Colossians 2
2
1For I want you to have da'as of how great a ma'avak (struggle) I have for you and the ones in Laodicea, and as many as have not seen me panim el panim (directly, in person),
2That their levavot may be given chozek (strength), having been made an aguda of ahavah and all osher (wealth) of the full assurance of binah, resulting in the da'as of the raz of Hashem, namely Moshiach,
3In whom is nistar (hidden) all the otzarot (treasures) of chochmah and da'as.#2:3 Isa 11:2; Jer 23:5
4This I say so that no one may delude you with the sleight of hand of the ba'al melitzot (rhetorician).
5For, though absent in basar, but present with you in the Ruach Hakodesh, with lev same'ach (glad heart) I am seeing your order and the firmness of your#2:5 Orthodox Jewish emunah in Moshiach.
6Therefore, as you became mekabel Moshiach and received Moshiach Adoneinu Yehoshua, so let your halichah be in Him,
7Having been rooted and built up in Moshiach and being firmly founded in the emunah as you were given Messianic#2:7 orthodox lernen (study), abounding in hodayah.
8Beware lest there be anyone of you taken captive through philosophical tevunah (wisdom) and empty deceit according to the kabbalah (oral tradition) of mere Bnei Adam, according to the ikkarim (basic principles) of the Olam Hazeh and not according to Moshiach;
9Because in Moshiach kol melo Elohim (all the plentitude of G-d) finds its bodily maon laShechinah (dwelling place for the Shechinah, mitgashem).
10And you have been granted melo (plentitude) in Moshiach, who is the Rosh of all rule and authority.
11In Moshiach also you were circumcised with a Bris Milah not made with human hands, a Bris Milah of the surgically removing of the body of the basar (old fallen and unregenerate nature) in the Bris Milah of Moshiach,
12Having been buried in the Ohel of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiachʼs tevilah with him, with whom also you were made to stand up spiritually in the Techiyah together through your emunah and bitachon in the ma'aseh of Hashem who made Moshiach stand up from the Mesim.
13And you being dead in your peysha'im#2:13 Isa 53:8 and your orlat basar (uncircumcision of flesh) he made alive together, you together with Moshiach, having granted you selicha for all your peysha'im;
14Having erased the hand-signed sefer of guilt choiv (debt), the heavenly indictment against us in the maleh chukat haTorah (full statute requirement of the Torah), which was against us. Moshiach has done away with this opposing record, having nailed it to Moshiachʼs Etz.
15Having disarmed the rulers and the authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, having triumphed over them by Moshiachʼs Etz.
16Therefore, let no one judge you [Goyim] in eating and in drinking or in respect to a yom tov (yontev) or a rosh chodesh or Shabbos;
17Which are a shadow of the things to come in the Olam HaBah; but the reality, the substance, is Moshiach.
18Let no one deprive you of the prize by delighting in his mystical asceticism and his veneration of malachim and delving into his chazonot (visions) and being vainly puffed up by the machshavot (thoughts) of his basar (old nature unrenewed and unregenerated by the Ruach Hakodesh),
19And not holding on to the Rosh, out of whom all the Moshiachʼs Guf, being fully supplied and being be'ichud (united) together through the joints and ligaments, grows with the growth of Hashem.
20Als (Since) you died with Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach to the ikkarim (basic principles) of the Olam Hazeh, why, as though you still belonged to the keyam (existence) of the Olam Hazeh, do you (Goyim) chain yourself to chumra legalisms?
21“Do not touch; do not taste; do not handle.”
22The things referred to are all destined to deterioration with use, according to the humanly contrived mitzvot and the humanly contrived chukim (laws) of mere Bnei Adam,#2:22 i.e., non-Biblical teachings and humanly contrived religious tradition — Isa 29:13
23Which things have a superficial appearance of chochmah in self-imposed religion and mystical asceticism and severe physical mortification, but are of no value against the indulgence of the yetzer (the so-called basar unrenewed and unregenerated by the Ruach Hakodesh).
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Colossians 2: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Colossians 2
2
1For I want you to know how great a struggle I am having for you and for those in Laodicea#Laodicea: chief city in Phrygia, northwest of Colossae; cf. Col 4:13, 16; Rev 3:14–22. and all who have not seen me face to face, 2that their hearts may be encouraged as they are brought together in love, to have all the richness of fully assured understanding, for the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,#1:26–27; Eph 3:18–19. 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.#Prv 2:4–5; Is 45:3; Rom 11:33; 1 Cor 1:30.
III. WARNINGS AGAINST FALSE TEACHERS#In face of the threat posed by false teachers (Col 2:4), the Colossians are admonished to adhere to the gospel as it was first preached to them (Col 2:6), steeping themselves in it with grateful hearts (Col 2:7). They must reject religious teachings originating in any source except the gospel (Col 2:8) because in Christ alone will they have access to God, the deity (Col 2:9). So fully has Christ enlightened them that they need no other source of religious knowledge or virtue (Col 2:10). They do not require circumcision (Col 2:11), for in baptism their whole being has been affected by Christ (Col 2:12) through forgiveness of sin and resurrection to a new life (Col 2:13; cf. Col 3:1 and Rom 6:1–11). On the cross Christ canceled the record of the debt that stood against us with all its claims (Col 2:14), i.e., he eliminated the law (cf. Eph 2:15) that human beings could not observe—and that could not save them. He forgave sins against the law (Col 2:14) and exposed as false and misleading (Col 2:15) all other powers (cf. Col 1:16) that purport to offer salvation. Therefore, the Colossians are not to accept judgments from such teachers on food and drink or to keep certain religious festivals or engage in certain cultic practices (Col 2:16), for the Colossians would thereby risk severing themselves from Christ (Col 2:19). If, when they accepted the gospel, they believed in Christ as their savior, they must be convinced that their salvation cannot be achieved by appeasing ruling spirits through dietary practices or through a wisdom gained simply by means of harsh asceticism (Col 2:20–23).
A General Admonition. 4I say this so that no one may deceive you by specious arguments.#Eph 4:14. 5For even if I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing as I observe your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.#1 Cor 5:3; Phil 1:27. 6So, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, 7rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.#Eph 2:20–22; 3:17. 8See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world#Elemental powers of the world: see note on Gal 4:3. and not according to Christ.#Gal 4:3; Eph 5:6.
Sovereign Role of Christ. 9#1:19; Eph 3:19. For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity#Fullness of the deity: the divine nature, not just attributes; see note on Col 1:19. bodily, 10and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power. 11#1:22; Jer 4:4; Rom 2:25–29; Phil 3:3. In him#A description of baptism (Col 2:12) in symbolic terms of the Old Testament rite for entry into the community. The false teachers may have demanded physical circumcision of the Colossians. you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. 12You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.#Rom 6:3–4. 13#Eph 2:1, 5. And even when you were dead [in] transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; 14#The elaborate metaphor here about how God canceled the legal claims against us through Christ’s cross depicts not Christ being nailed to the cross by men but the bond…with its legal claims being nailed to the cross by God. obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross;#Eph 2:14–15. 15despoiling the principalities and the powers, he made a public spectacle of them,#1:16, 20; 2 Cor 2:14; Eph 1:21. leading them away in triumph by it.#The picture derives from the public spectacle and triumph of a Roman emperor’s victory parade, where captives marched in subjection. The principalities and the powers are here conquered, not reconciled (cf. Col 1:16, 20). An alternate rendering for by it (the cross) is “by him” (Christ).
Practices Contrary to Faith. 16#Rom 14:3–4; 1 Tm 4:3. Let no one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink or with regard to a festival or new moon or sabbath.#Festival or new moon or sabbath: yearly, monthly, and weekly observances determined by religious powers associated with a calendar set by the heavenly bodies, sun, moon, and stars (cf. Col 2:8). 17These are shadows of things to come; the reality belongs to Christ.#Heb 8:5; 10:1. 18Let no one disqualify you, delighting in self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions,#Ascetic practices encouraged by the false teachers included subjection of self humbly to their rules, worship of angels, and cultivation of visions, though exact details are unclear. inflated without reason by his fleshly mind,#2:23; Mt 24:4. 19and not holding closely to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and bonds, achieves the growth that comes from God.#Eph 2:21–22; 4:16.
20If you died with Christ to the elemental powers of the world, why do you submit to regulations as if you were still living in the world? 21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 22These are all things destined to perish with use; they accord with human precepts and teachings.#Is 29:13. 23While they have a semblance of wisdom in rigor of devotion and self-abasement [and] severity to the body, they are of no value against gratification of the flesh.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc